Queer, interfaith couples wed by Muhsin Hendricks pay homage to imam’s faith, love and acceptance

Ty Khan and Imam Muhsin Hendricks embrace at the Masjid Ul-Umam, the People’s Mosque, in Wynberg, Cape Town, in 2024. Ty and Safia’s wedding ceremony was performed by Hendricks. (Photo: Klara Berckerling)

By Kristin Engel

20 Feb 2025

Queer and interfaith couples found love and acceptance through Imam Muhsin Hendricks, a trailblazing openly gay imam who redefined Islam’s embrace of LGBTQ+ communities for many. His life’s work in fostering inclusivity and justice continues to inspire a movement after his murder.

For many, Imam Muhsin Hendricks refined what it meant to be Muslim and LGBTQ+, creating a sanctuary for those seeking faith, love and acceptance. In the wake of his passing last week, his friends and community have vowed to continue living as authentically as he did – even if it takes their lives.

Imam Muhsin Hendricks performs a wedding ceremony at the Majid Ul-Umam, the People's Mosque, an inclusive LGBTIA+ friendly mosque in Wynberg, Cape Town in 2024. (Photo: Klara Beckerling)

Hendricks, from Cape Town, was fatally shot in an apparent hit in Bethelsdorp, Gqeberha on Saturday, 15 February 2025, but in the wake of shock, grief, and anger, his community and friends have urged to remember him for the abundance of light, love and acceptance he brought to not just them, but the world, instead of the tragic manner in which his life was taken.

His life’s work in fostering inclusivity and justice continues to inspire a movement, even as the circumstances of his apparent assassination shake the very communities he nurtured.

Friends and couples married or joined in civic union by Hendricks shared their memories of him at their ceremonies and the impact he had in their lives – from his smile, Bollywood style and biryani, to his interfaith solidarity and Islamic values in the bleakest of times.

Read more: Condolences, tributes pour in for Muhsin Hendricks, openly gay imam shot dead at weekend

For many queer and interfaith couples, Hendricks was more than a religious leader – he was a lifeline.

safia ty khan Safia (she/her) and Ty Khan (he/him) were married in 2024 by Imam Muhsin Hendricks at the Majid Ul-Umam, the People’s Mosque in Wynberg, Cape Town. (Photo: Klara Beckerling)

Safia Khan, a queer Muslim, recalls how she and her trans husband, Ty, found refuge in his teachings and presence when they met and decided to marry in 2024 at Hendrick’s inclusive mosque, the Majid Ul-Umam (the People’s Mosque) in Wynberg, Cape Town.

The Majid Ul-Umam is an LGBTIA+ friendly mosque that was run by Hendricks and his Al-Ghurbaah Foundation.

“He made people feel safe, accepted, and not judged,” Khan said, and described the mosque as a home for many who had been cast out of their families and faith communities.

Every Friday, Hendricks would cook meals such as biryani to share with those who attended prayers, ensuring that everyone left not just spiritually nourished, but physically sustained.

Hendricks’ assassination has sent shockwaves through South Africa’s queer Muslim, and interfaith communities. Khan recalled the moment she learnt of his death.

“When I got the call, I knew that he passed. I just didn’t expect it to be as violent as it was.”

“We have no proof that it’s linked to the 2022 fatwa by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC),” said Kahn.

The 2022 fatwa, issued publicly, condemned homosexuality and many queer Muslims believe it incited violence against Hendricks and the community he supported. Activists, including Khan, are working with the Human Rights Commission to build a case against what they call incitement of violence.

“The epidemic of violence against queer people is something that is not in the limelight enough,” Khan said. “We like to think of Cape Town as the queer capital of the continent, but you only need to drive 10 minutes out of the city to find severe and extensive evidence of killings, corrective rape for men and women and all genders in between, suicide and the expulsion of people from their homes for being queer.”

khan Safia (she/her) and Ty Khan (he/him) during their wedding ceremony performed by Imam Muhsin Hendricks in 2024. (Photo: Klara Beckerling)

This was what made Hendricks, his foundation and the mosque so crucial in the queer community. Khan said the imam saved many lives and gave queer people, young and old, not just an inclusive space to reconnect with God, but also sometimes literally a place to stay, and a meal.

“He was a charismatic, funny and loving person. When you talked to him, he made you feel like you were the only person in the world and that you were his best friend… Hundreds of people would say the same thing. Our relationship was one that was light, easygoing, and sincere,” she said.

A legacy of love and unity

After Covid-19, Khan said her partner had just embraced Islam and was looking for a space and came across Hendricks’ mosque.

“We’re going on this mission with an open mind and an open heart. For the first time. I have a very violent background. I grew up in an orphanage that was run by the Muslim community and it was a very violent and abusive space. And so I shunned my faith for many years, maybe like a decade-and-a-half,” Khan said.

When they walked into the mosque, Khan said, “It felt like home. It was just all the good elements of culture put into one big bundle of love… It felt like you were seen and like you belonged.”

Khan described the mosque as a fearless, warm and loving space that always smelled good because Hendricks loved incense.

On what it was like coming back to Islam and finding her connection with Allah again, Khan said, “It felt like after searching and searching and rejecting God and rejecting the faith and rejecting the abuse and the fear-based indoctrination, it felt like, wow, this is my culture and it’s been passed down to me over thousands of years. And I finally found an expression through which I can celebrate it. That’s what that space was to me.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gze-ttEaeA&ab_channel=DailyMaverick

Jacqui Benson-Mabombo, a Jewish community leader and co-founder of the Queer Faith Collective in Cape Town, developed a deep friendship with Hendricks over the years.

Hendricks served as Benson-Mabombo and Sixolile Mabombo-Benson’s civil union officiant in their multifaith ceremony on Human Rights Day in 2022 at Kirstenbosch Gardens. Benson-Mabombo said that the switch in their last names was also very much thanks to Hendricks.

“The impact that he had in the world because his reach was far greater than just South Africa, the work he did, the impact he’s had on the world and not the Muslim world, has been incredible,” Benson-Mabombo said. “He was a human first, a Muslim and a man second and third, and then a gay imam or an imam who was gay.”

Benson-Mabombo said he never turned anybody away, and his love and compassion, even for his haters and detractors, spoke volumes about his humanity and his faith.

Hendricks and Al-Ghurbaah were instrumental in forming the Queer Faith Collective, an interfaith initiative aimed at creating a space where people of all gender identities and sexual orientations could practice their faith in harmony.

muhsin ty khan Ty Khan (he/him) and Imam Muhsin Hendricks embrace at the Majid Ul-Umam, the People's Mosque in Wynberg in 2024. (Photo: Klara Beckerling)

His ability to find harmony in different faiths was evident at the Mabombo-Benson civil union ceremony where Christian, Jewish and Muslim clergy, as well as traditional African spiritual leaders, all played a role.

“We were very clear that we wanted to create a multifaith space that honours both of us and everybody who’s a part of us in terms of our community, with nobody left out. And so Imam Muhsin then became the obvious choice as our civil union officiant. Reverend Nima Taylor was our wedding celebrant. Then we had three sangomas and three Jewish faith leaders also participating in our wedding,” Benson-Mabombo said.

Mabombo-Benson said she wasn’t quite sure what that would look like and how it would turn out, but that Hendricks facilitated a beautiful and loving ceremony for them.

“Considering that he initially was not going to be able to help us, because he was going to be travelling to a conference in London on that day. But he changed his flight to leave later so that he could come to our wedding in the afternoon.

Outside the Imam’s public role

When asked what he was like outside his public role, Benson-Mabombo said, “He just was all about love and wanting people to be in love. And he’s just this cheeky, mischievous, free-spirited, loving person who wants to bring love and light to the world.

“If you just look at his Bollywood nature TikTok videos, which are all mostly about that. The thing that we always chided him on, and we bumped into him in the gym often, and especially in wintertime, we were all working on our summer bodies. We would joke about it and kept saying, can we get the specs for possible suitors we can try and line up for you?

“We wanted to make sure that [with] his commitment for people to be in loving, wholesome relationships, that he had the same experience. He was just such an adorable human being beyond just his role as a faith leader,” Benson-Mabombo said.

Khan added that he loved Bollywood, Bollywood music, eyeliner, good food, incense, and beautiful clothing, “Those are the things we need to remember.”

Even when the days were dark, he was always ready with a little joke to lift their spirits, “You never left Muhsin in a bad mood,” Mabombo-Benson said.

Benson-Mahombo said that since the 7th of October 2023, as a Jew, they struggled to navigate identity and political views in the world, and Hendricks was the person who was immediately there and responsive.

“We were talking about an event for Pride 2024 and I was concerned about showing up. And he said, ‘come and I’ll wear a yarmulke with you…’ It meant so much to know that I would feel protected and be okay and would be okay to show up in this space where there was an incredible amount of animosity,” Benson-Mabombo said.

Read more: Immediate family members of ‘world’s first openly gay imam’ lying low after his murder

A light that will not be extinguished

Mabombo-Benson added, “This thing that’s happened to him now has been hanging over his head since 1996 when he came out. I don’t think that there’s ever been a year where he’s had zero threats,

“He personally paid a very high price. Muhsin was a highly intelligent human being and he could have chosen many, many paths for his life that would have meant a much easier life, perhaps. But he didn’t.

“He chose to stand shoulder to shoulder with those that he felt were being oppressed. And he did it with good humour, and so much compassion and love for his detractors… Every time the threats would come, he’d offer to pray for people and send duas of peace, love and harmony their way,” Mabombo-Benson said.

When the fatwa came out in 2022, Benson-Mabombo said there was again a resurgence of hate aimed at him. But he didn’t run and hide from it. Benson-Mabombo said he answered every negative comment with love.

“He was the opening for so many to be able to be back in life where so many had been rejected by family. The number of people who commented, saying “Muhsin saved my life”, where they were thinking of self-harming because of their experience. And by simply meeting with him and knowing that something else was possible and available, they got to choose to be alive,” Benson-Mabombo said.

Muhsin Hendricks and justice

Mabombo-Benson and Benson-Mabombo dedicated their participation in the 2025 Balwin Sports Peninsula half-marathon on Sunday, 16 February, in Cape Town, to Hendricks with a memorial picture pinned to their race bibs. This was a day after the news that Hendricks had been murdered.

Upon hearing about his death, Mabombo-Benson said it felt like a numbness followed by an impotent rage, “a rage I didn’t know what to do with… It still is shocking for me, it’s still very fresh… Talking about it, the tears just well up instantly. It’s painful. It’s a kick in the gut.”

With tears and a choked-up voice, Benson-Mabombo said they felt shock and disbelief.

But the couple said that a quote by Hendricks that remained with them was, “The need to be authentic is much more powerful than the fear of dying.”

Mabombo-Benson said, “I’ve never, ever felt in danger as a queer person, the way I’ve felt in danger in the last few days… There’s got to be a consequence for spreading hate.”

Even while running the half-marathon with his picture on her back, Mabombo-Benson said she could sense disapproval while passing certain groups.

“It was the first time I felt exposed like that. And so for me, that’s really the legacy… We need to do whatever it takes. And if it takes our lives, then so be it.”

Hendricks speaks about this in his 2022 documentary, The Radical, about being the world’s first openly gay imam. Despite opposition, he established and ran the Majid Ul-Umam (the People’s Mosque) in Wynberg, Cape Town.

In 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill into law, making hate crimes and hate speech criminal offences. But South Africa still possesses one of the highest murder rates in the world, with religious, social, and cultural clashes against minority and marginalised groups despite the constitutional and legal protections.

Khan said that with the move in the world towards more hate, exclusion and fascism, they were at a critical moment in the interfaith dialogue and in the queer world where they had to stand together to take his mission forward.

“There won’t be another Imam Muhsin Hendricks, but there are all of us standing down as a foundation willing to take this cause forward. He was a phenomenal man and deserves not to be remembered in violence, but to be remembered in joy,” said Khan. DM

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South Africa

A legacy of love and unity

Outside the Imam’s public role

A light that will not be extinguished

Muhsin Hendricks and justice